The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 670 - 254: What’s your status, and what’s Su Wan’s status? Are you worthy of having a conflict with him?

Chapter 670: Chapter 254: What’s your status, and what’s Su Wan’s status? Are you worthy of having a conflict with him?

Tyson Chandler, up to this point, has been averaging 11.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.

League tops for an interior player.

A top-notch blue-collar performance.

But because he’s inked a near-max contract of 12.5 million, such performance has left the New York Media far from satisfied.

However, this game proved that Tyson Chandler had many contributions that stats couldn’t reflect.

And his contributions in those aspects are very valuable.

After the game, Su Wan said, "If Tyson Chandler can’t get the ’Best Defensive Player Award’ this season, I think it would be unfair!"

Suddenly, the media realized, "Su, it seems that teammates who partner with you always end up becoming the ’Defensive Player of the Year’?"

Artest won his second "Defensive Player of the Year Award" by Su Wan’s side.

Young O’Neal received his first "Defensive Player of the Year Award" in his career.

Including Su Wan himself...

And after tonight’s game, even if Su Wan hadn’t said it, many media members would have brought Tyson Chandler into the discussion for the "Best Defensive Player Award." Of course, after he said it, the discussion on whether Tyson Chandler should win this season’s "Best Defensive Player Award" would undoubtedly grow louder.

If Tyson Chandler ultimately wins, it would mean the appearance of the fourth "Defensive Player of the Season" from Su Wan’s team.

Su Wan answered, "The reason is simple, because we emphasize defense!"

Without any surprises, by the next morning, under the hype of New York media, Tyson Chandler immediately became a hot favorite for "Best Defensive Player of the Season."

This...

This is New York!

If Su Wan remembered correctly, Tyson Chandler initially won the "Defensive Player of the Year Award" while in New York.

And during his best defensive year with the Mavericks, the ultimate "Best Defensive Player Award" was snatched by Howard... because Dallas media’s exposure was all on Dirk Nowitzki.

No matter who it was, going to the Mavericks meant only playing second fiddle to Dirk.

Later, it became playing second fiddle to Doncic...

Bill Walton also spoke up for Tyson Chandler, "Tyson Chandler’s defensive contributions this season have been underestimated, he’s definitely one of the best, if not the top two, interior defenders in the NBA this season."

Chandler saw Su Wan speaking for him, and in an act of quid pro quo said, "Under Su Wan’s leadership, each of us has a high level of enthusiasm on the defensive end."

After defeating the Western top Spurs, the New York Knicks acquired a new nickname as the "Giant Killers."

Barkley joked, "To stop the current New York Knicks, you would have to put the Bobcats, Raptors, and Wizards into the playoffs."

Kenny Smith thought his logic was flawed, "If they make it to the playoffs, then they also become ’giants!’"

Su Wan didn’t like this moniker, as it fully underscored the instability of the New York Knicks.

And such instability would be exponentially magnified on the playoff stage.

But when facing reporters’ questions, Su Wan still tried to stay patient with these newcomers.

On December 4th, they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, with Stephen Curry going 1 for 7 from the three-point line. Su Wan said, "He’s hit a total of 56 three-point shots this season, we can’t lose faith in him just because of his poor performance beyond the arc tonight, that wouldn’t be right!"

On December 6th, the New York Knicks narrowly beat the Western twelfth-ranked Utah Jazz by 4 points, Bozer went 10 for 11, blowing past Gallinari. Su Wan said, "He’s not a player known for his defense, you can’t expect LeBron to take the team’s last shot; Danilo’s contribution is on the offensive end, and everyone should notice that he went 3 for 4 from the three-point line tonight!"

On December 7th, the New York Knicks, back-to-back, faced the Portland Trail Blazers. Off the bench, Paul George went 0 for 7 for the entire game, scoring zero points for the first time in his career; the team lost by 8 points. Su Wan said, "That’s a rookie for you!"

However, on the plane back to New York after the game, Su Wan gathered everyone in front of him:

"Everyone, listen, losing is a normal part of the game, but what I want to see is your attitude!"

The Knicks at one point trailed by 15 points in the game.

At that time, the entire bench was lifeless, even Tyson Chandler’s Slam Dunk had failed to elicit any emotional responses; it wasn’t until Su Wan scored consecutively, and they slowly came around, starting to stand up and shout—this was not something Su Wan could tolerate.

"If you’re sitting on the sidelines, and your teammate makes a great play on the court, I want to hear your screams and shouts! That’s how you take part in the match, it’s not just being on the court that makes us united; when all of us enter the stadium, whether it’s at Madison or away, from that moment, we are one, with only one goal in mind, and that’s to win games..."

"And, to do everything possible to contribute to winning!"

Su Wan’s words had an immediate effect on the next game.

On December 9th, after a day of rest, the New York Knicks played at home against the Orlando Magic.

In this game, the New York Knicks were trailing by about ten points, but as Su Wan said, whether it was the players on the field or those off the field, they all maintained a spirited and positive attitude, which was clearly visible...

The entire New York Knicks pulled together as one.

ABC commentator Hubie Brown said, "Although I don’t know what happened, it’s evident that the whole New York Knicks team atmosphere has become more positive!"